The process of accessing deeper levels of consciousness, and the wisdom contained therein, is sometimes helped by asking for, and meditating on, an image that represents the current period of your life. The image that comes up, perhaps an image of a traveler on a journey, a journey leading you toward the light or toward darkness, can offer insights you are not consciously aware of.

Find a quiet place where you can be alone, undisturbed. Relax your breath, allow it to slow down. Starting with your toes, and moving slowly up your body, relax each area. When you get to your head, imagine a place of deep peace and relaxation.

Invite your inner friend for a visit. Ask for an image that represents this period of your life. Welcome whatever shows up, dark or light, favorable or unfavorable. Ask for insights or guidance about your current scenario. Give it plenty of time to respond. Listen carefully. Express gratitude for any image or insight offered, whether you perceive it as positive or negative. When you sense that the image or guide has finished, thank it for its visit.

. . .

When I engaged in this process this morning, it didn’t develop as I thought it would. It rarely does.

By way of background, I’ve just moved to Hilton Head Island and am in the process of setting up a studio and gallery. I occasionally go out for dinner, and every couple of evenings connect on Zoom with my friend Sally in Vermont, but otherwise have no human contact. I don’t know anyone here. The connections I made with a few people in past years when visiting the Island did not evolve into friendships. So I’m here working, sleeping, walking every day along the ocean and otherwise alone. Perhaps for that reason, it feels like a solo journey.

When I began meditating this morning and asking for an image that represents this time in my life, I thought that an image of someone on a journey might come up. I invited in mental pictures of someone walking in the woods, then of a lone figure on horseback. Neither of these felt “right.” So then I imagined an underwater journey, among fish. Again not right. I let my mind go completely blank and concentrated on my breath. I tried to avoid inviting any particular image, and instead just relax. I asked, “Am I on a journey?” I was surprised that the answer I got back was no. Not a journey. So am I stationary? The answer was yes. What image represents this period if I’m not going somewhere on a journey?

The image that came back was of a single, large white flower on a forest floor. I asked it if it had a message for me. “Yes,” it said, “be still.”

“You mean, don’t work?” I asked. I’ve been working day and night on getting the gallery set up, on painting, finishing a book and doing these Substacks.

“No, work,” it said, “Like you have been. But be still inside. You are not on a journey, you are stationary. Relax into this place you are at, into the here and now. Don’t wonder what’s next. Everything is okay.”